held in Chicago on June 19, 1884, this Society was organised by the election of the officers and committee. The first meeting will be held in Cincinnati, O., between August 12 and 25, 1885. All florists, gardeners, seedsmen, nurserymen, superintendents of parks, manufacturers of heating apparatus, greenhouse builders, and dealers in florists' supplies in the United States and Canada are eligible to membership in this Society. The annual subscription is 2 dols., entitling members to all privileges of the Society. E. G. HILL, Sec., Richmond, Ind."

SUCCESSOR TO THE LATE DR. VOELCKER. -At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Agricul tural Society of England yesterday Dr. JOHN AUGUSTUS VOELCKER was appointed Consulting Chemist and Director of the Society's Laboratory, in succession to his father, the late Dr. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER.

THE SURVEYORS' INSTITUTION.-The next meeting will be held on Monday, February 9, when a paper will be read by Mr. H. ROBINSON (Fellow), entitled "Some Recent Phases of the Sewage Question." The chair to be taken at 8 o'clock.

A NEW INSECTICIDE DISTRIBUTOR.-We have lately been shown a small machine for use in gardens and nurseries that supplies a want that has been long felt. The old method of applying liquid insecticides was always wasteful of the substance used, and frequently injurious to plants with tender foliage and delicate blossoms; whereas, with the apparatus of Messrs. S. OWENS & Co., the liquid sent out is as fine as a Scotch mist, and the plant operated on becomes rapidly moistened in all parts without any more being used than is necessary for the purpose. For using the dear preparations of the present day, or the cheaper quassia-water, tobacco-water, or soapsuds, on Roses, wall trees, tender stove and greenhouse plants, Auriculas, fruit trees in houses, and Hops, it will be very useful; and so economical is it, that one man using it constantly cannot empty the smaller size, holding 4 gallons, in an hour. We ntend shortly to give an illustration of the machine.

EDUCATIONAL COLLECTIONS. Messrs. SUTTON & SONS have been so obliging as to send for our inspection a handsome case, fitted for museums, lecture or school rooms, and containing samples of the dried plants and of the seeds of our pasturegrasses. Such cases have been presented by Messrs. SUTTON to a large number of museums and agricultural institutions at home and abroad. Further, Messrs. SUTTON have studied the convenience of students by enclosing in cylinders of glass, closed at each end, dried specimens of grasses, &c., accurately named, and by providing small sample bottles of the seeds duly labelled. These are admirably adapted for the purpose, and we should like to see them in every school in the pastoral districts of the country. A knowledge of the distinguishing features of the common grasses, and of their marvellous structure, would not only be more directly useful but more mentally serviceable than much that is taught in schools. Messrs. SUTTON have evidently gauged the need and supplied it.

ORCHID SALES.-At a recent sale by Messrs. PROTHEROE & MORRIS, fifty-four lots of Lælia anceps Sanderiana brought £510-one very fine mass, 8 feet in circumference, fetching 36 guineas, others 26 guineas, 46 guineas, 38 guineas, 23 guineas, 20 guineas, and 19 guineas, the lowest price for any one plant being II guineas. A Cymbidium eburneum went for 25 guineas, and an Odontoglossum Alexandra for 15 guineas. The remainder of the Fallowfield collection was sold on this occasion.

MIDDLESEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. The annual meeting of the members of this newly. formed Association took place at 149, Regent Street, on the 30th ult., the Hon. and Rev. H. BLIGH, the Vicar of Hampton, presiding. The annual report showed that some substantial progress was being made with the Association, that the county had been arranged into seven divisions, and that local secretaries had been appointed in four of these, and it was hoped that local agents would be established in the other three during the spring. The accounts showed a small balance in hand. The Chairman stated that an impression was abroad that the Middlesex County Association was in antagonism to the

British Bee-keepers' Association, but, as a prominent member of the latter, he could state that it was a helper in the good work, and that the establishment of county associations was looked upon with great favour by the central association. A scheme for extending the Association during the summer was considered, and referred to the Committee of Management for carrying out.

EARLY CABBAGES.-We are informed by Mr. GILBERT, of Burghley Gardens, that he intends to exhibit at the committee meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday next specimens of his Selected Imperial Spring Cabbage, and Ellam's Dwarf Early variety. It would be of advantage to determine the relative earliness of sorts if others would show specimens of their favourite early kinds.

THE NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY. -A fully attended meeting of the General Committee of this Society was held at the "Four Swans" Inn, Bishopsgate Street, E.C., on Monday, January 26, the President, E. SANDERSON, Esq., in the chair. Among the more important items of business that came under the consideration of the committee was Colonel MALLARD's proposal to offer special prizes for undressed Chrysanthemums. The committee had made a proposition to Colonel MALLARD to the effect that his prizes should be given for the purpose of encouraging the best method of staging Chrysanthemums without cups, and that a stand of twelve incurved blooms should be required, to be distinct; that any means of setting up might be adopted, with or without boards, upon which they are generally shown; but the right of withholding the prizes is to be reserved, unless a method of general practical value be illustrated. The matter again came under consideration at this meeting, and it is expected that the conditions of the competition will be finally settled by the time the committee again meet-a week hence. The judges at the show to be held in November next at the Royal Aquarium were appointed, and also an enlarged Exhibition Committee; the Floral Committee was also appointed, and extended from eight to fifteen members. Mr. W. HOLMES, the Secretary, announced that he had had an interview with Captain HOBSON, of the Royal Aquarium, and he had promised the use of a room at the Aquarium for the purpose of the committee. The Floral Committee will sit at 2.30 P.M., instead of in the evening, as heretofore. Mr. CULLINGFORD'S offer to give the sum of ten guineas as special prizes for Chrysanthemums to be shown during the second or third week in January was further considered, and the conditions of the competition settled, as follows: Class I, twelve blooms of incurved flowers; class 2, twelve blooms of Japanese; class 3, twelve blooms of any other sort; class 4, a collection of late. flowering Chrysanthemums; class 5, six incurved; class 6, six Japanese. It was understood that any Chrysanthemums in good condition in the month of January should be accepted as late varieties. Mr. T. S. WARE and others offered special prizes for single Chrysanthemums, and a class was formed, as follows:-Twenty-four bunches, not less than three trusses in a bunch, and not less than twelve varieties to be shown. A few other classes of lesser importance were added to the schedule of prizes, and the committee broke up, after a protracted sitting.

A NEW COTTON PLANT.-Mr. A. A. LUBER, of Macon, Georgia, has (we quote from the Times) been experimenting for several years to hybridise the Cotton plant that grows wild in Florida [?] with the common Ochra, and he appears to have been at last successful. The new plant retains the Ochra stalk and the foliage of the Cotton. Its flower and fruit, however, are strikingly unlike either Cotton or Ochra. The plant has an average height of 2 feet, and each plant has only one bloom. This is a magnificent flower, very much like the great Magnolia in fragrance and equally as large. Like the bloom of the Cotton plant the flower is white for several days after it opens, after which it is first pale pink, and gradually assumes darker shades of this colour until it becomes red, when it drops, disclosing a large boll. For about ten days this boll resembles the Cotton boll, and then its growth suddenly increases until it reaches the size of a Cocoa-nut. The lint does not appear until this size is reached. Then its snowy threads begin to burst from the boll, but are securely held in place by the Ochra-like thorns or points that line the boll. Each boll is said to produce about 2 lb. of

very long-stapled Cotton-superior to Sea Island Cotton [!]. There are no seeds in the lint-from four to six seeds, resembling those of Persimmon, being at the bottom of the boll. The new Cotton consequently, it is stated, needs no ginning, and it is thought will revolutionise the Cotton industry of the South. The Ochra, we may add, is known to botanists as Hibiscus or Abelmoschus esculentus, the pods of which are used to thicken soups, they being rich in mucilage. It is not many years since that a statement of the same kind was made with reference to a so-called hybrid Cotton raised in Egypt, between the Cotton gossypium herbaceum and the Bamia, or Ochro (sce Gardeners' Chronicle, n. s., vii., p. 561, and vol. ix, 1879, p. 16); but we believe the hybrid character of the plant was not borne out, and the account given by the Times is assuredly not one that should be accepted without evidence. The size of the boll and capsule, and the quantity of Cotton as given are so large as to lead one to doubt very strongly.

EXTRAORDINARY TITHES: INDIGNATION MEETING. On Friday last four auction sales under distress for Extraordinary Tithe took place at Leeds, Kent, under the direction of the Eccleasiastical Commissioners. Altogether 114 sheep were seized to cover tithes and costs amounting in the aggregate to 146 35. Previous to the sale notices were posted throughout the Hop growing districts, and post-cards sent to the most important farmers throughout Kent calling their attention to the proceedings, and inviting their attendance at an "indignation meeting," to be held immediately after the sale. At this meeting Mr. J. CHAPMAN proposed the following resolution:-"That this meeting agrees with the recommendation of the Select Committee of the House of Commons to the effect that

Extraordinary Tithes are an impediment to agriculture, hampering new cultivation; that it is expedient that they should be abolished, and urges upon the Government to embody this recommendation in a Bill at the earliest opportunity, and calls upon the representatives of the people to give their earnest support to such a measure." He agreed with JOSEPH HUME, who, at the time of the commutation, had protested against the Extraordinary Tithe as a tax upon industry, for garden cultivation deserved to be ranked not so much as an agricultural pursuit as a manufactory, and the impost was not only unjust and cruel, but most unwise as well. With keen foreign competition and heavy rents farmers could hardly live, and if their corn crops did not pay their friends would tell them how foolish they were not to turn their attention to something else, while they knew well themselves that if they grew fruit or Hops they had more to pay in consequence. The question was not a political one, and he thought agriculturists of all classes ought to be entirely as one upon the subject. The imposition gave rise to local injustice, some parishes being free and others heavily taxed, and farmers and labourers in the latter districts were deprived of the benefit they might hope to secure from the cultivation of Hops or fruit.-The Rev. H. RYLETT supported the motion as a consumer of garden produce, and occa. sionally of the commodity obtained from the Hop. The taxes upon agricultural produce finally percolated down to the consumer, and the urban populations were interested in getting their food at a cheap rate, consequently they would be glad to see the burdens on land removed, but would be sure to oppose the imposition of any tax upon imported food.

PROLIFIC MUSHROOMS.-Some very remark. able bunches of these were sent for our inspection by Messrs. VEITCH & SONS, Chelsea, which had been forwarded to them by Mr. BREESE, the gardener at Petworth, Sussex. The bunches, of which there were two, were fully a foot across, and comprised Mushrooms mostly of one age and size, one clump having had as many as seventy-five specimens on it. The inference is, either that the spawn was of more than usual potency, or else had been used in exceptional large masses. The Mushrooms were deficient in substance, from their inability to get enough nutri

THE VINERY.

In early started houses, when the Vines are coming into flower, it will be advisable to avoid wetting the hot-water pipes whenever they are very hot, because the effects of the steam which then arises is the cause of that disfigurement of the Grapes which is commonly called rust, that mars the appearance and reduces the value of the Grapes considerably when they are ripe. The effect is most plainly indicated on bunches which are situated in close proximity to the pipes.

SETTING THE BLOOMS.

To obtain a good and perfect set, it will during the flowering process be advisable to gently shake the Vines occasionally, or otherwise brush the bunches over with a camel's-hair pencil, and in the case of uncertain setting kinds, to obtain the pollen from the Hamburgh bunches and fertilise them in the ordinary way. Immediately the Grapes are large enough for thinning out this operation should be done at once, leaving in all the terminal and other best developed berries in sufficient number as when swelled out to form a perfect bunch. To do this properly a knowledge of the state of the Vines is indispensable, or otherwise the operator should have an indication by example. In the case of very early Grapes required to ripen as soon as possible, large bunches should be reduced in size, and the Vines should not be overburdened.

STOPPING.

The growths will advance quickly, therefore attend to stopping them-the side shoots at the first or second leaf above the bunch, and the laterals above the first leaf; the terminals may extend to the limit required, when they should be topped. Cease to syringe the Vines overhead when they come into flower, and a genial state should be kept up by moistening the borders and other available places in the house. The artificial heat at night should be from 60° to 65°, and 75° by day; above this point a little air should be given, and in favourable weather the heat inay stand at from 80° to 90°, and be finally closed for the day at the former degree.

THE BORDer.

As the final result chiefly depends on the condition of the roots, attention to these is indispensable. When these extend beyond the limits of the house into outside borders they must be protected from the sudden changes to which they would otherwise be exposed. I am inclined to believe this is best effected by means of long litter being placed on the border and protected from wet, &c. It is much more reasonable than to attempt to force heat downwards into a border.

SUCCESSION-HOUSES.

In these, seasonable influences will now cause a more satisfactory state of progress, therefore avoid using means which promote growth too rapidly, and which tend rather to impair than to improve its character: 60° at night and 70° by day artificially is enough heat for the present; ventilate at 75°, and close up with sun-heat at 80°. Attend to disbudding, stopping, &c., in the same way as indicated for the early house. In later houses, where the Vines naturally break forth into growth without the aid of artificial heat, especially in the case of Hamburgh and similar kinds, the house should be fully aired at all times, except in severe weather.

MUSCAT-HOUSES

for late work should also be subject to similar treatment, and also the latest houses, in which Lady Downe's and Alicantes are grown from which the fruit has recently been removed. All work in the way of cleaning should be accomplished as soon as possible. Let the house be thoroughly cleaned with soft-soap and water, and if the Vines be free from bug or thrips they need not be divested of their natural covering of bark, but merely washed with a little soap and water, and tied up, without that customary dressing which formerly was considered to be indispensable and now gradually is becoming obsolete.

POT VINES.

The fact of being able to keep late Grapes in excel. lent condition until the middle of May does away with much of the necessity for very early forcing, as

permanently planted Vines accustomed to forcing operations, which are by far the best," started before the middle of December, will yield ripe fruit by the time it is required; it is, nevertheless, an interesting method, and wherever practised the chief things to observe and avoid are over-cropping and giving too much heat at the roots. If a bed of fermenting leaves is used the roots should be encouraged to strike out into it both at the base and surface of the pots. The same temperatures as recommended for the early house will be applicable to these, and the watering, which is the most important point in the management at this season, should be done judiciously, and contain some stimulating agent in a mild form.

Really good pot Vines can now-a-days be readily procured, which are grown under the best conditions possible, so that propagation in private places is not much needed; otherwise now is the time to put in the eyes, individually and firmly, into small 60-pots; these should be plunged in a warm bed, where growth will soon be excited. G. T. Miles, Wycombe Abbey Gardens.

Plants and their Culture.

MISCELLANEOUS FORCING PLANTS. AMONG these the Deutzia gracilis when treated as we have at times advised in previous Calendars, is to be relied upon to produce a good crop of flowers every spring. When they are nearly in flower, and until they are faded, a good supply of water at the roots is needed, as any approach to dryness there during these periods will hinder the perfect formation of the flowers. Of Lilacs, the variety known as Charles X. is a well proven kind and excellent for pot culture. For the supply of a large quantity of bloom, however, we recommend large bushes to be grown in the open ground in sufficient quantity; thus treated they would do good service each alternate season by being lifted and placed into a growing atmosphere as may be desired. Staphylea colchica would also be an excellent companion in pots with the Lilac, being amenable to similar treatment. Rhododendrons of the choicer hardy kinds had better not be introduced at present; but R. Early Gem would be the best to bring on in heat now. The later kinds with the Kalmias and Andromedas will give a more satisfactory return if allowed to advance more slowly. The flowes of the Gueldres Rose (Viburnum opulus) will also be found more lasting, if treated in a similar

manner.

ROSES IN POTS.

The Tea-scented kinds will be the best for earliest uses, to be followed by well established plants of the hybrid perpetuals. I find that by far the best return from forced Roses is obtained when I have an odd plant or two turned out in available corners of a Peach and Nectarine house. Hoteia (Spiraea) japonica will also give better satisfaction if covered, but plunging in this case is not so necessary, Unless specially desired Dielytra spectabilis should be retained for later uses; early in the season, and without much sunshine the flowers will be of a flimsy character and faint in colour.

BULBOUS PLANTS.

There are now abundance from which to choose. Of Lilies of the Valley, the single crowns will still be found the most reliable. Plunge the pots in a brisk heat and cover them with cocoa-fibre, and keep the same moist. In the forcing of these the chief object to secure is an advance for the flower-spikes before that of the foliage. From the stock of Hyacinths continue to introduce a few at a time into heat, keeping them near the glass to prevent the spikes being drawn up to too great a length. Choose those which from their appearance bid fair to come away the quickest.

TULIPS AND NARCISSUS.

The early kinds of single and double Tulips will also be available, and can now be depended upon to produce good flowers of durable quality. The single

A GOOD Sowing of second early Peas should now be made; this will follow in well after the earliest varieties, which were sown about the second week in January. Some of the varieties which are suitable for second earlies are enumerated at p. 22. When a constant and large supply of Peas is in demand throughout the season, it is not advisable to dabble with too many varieties for general picking, but greater satisfaction will be derived from making liberal sowings of two or three varieties; that is to say, for the supply of large establishments. Where the Peas have to be packed and sent by rail to the town residence of a family, or elsewhere, it is certainly a disadvantage to have many varieties, as the pods of each must be kept separate, and this does not facilitate packing. And again, if they are kept separate in the garden, they get mixed in the kitchen. Varieties on trial, &c., can be sown by themselves, and the results carefully noted for future guidance. Peas which grow 6 feet in height should be sown as many feet apart between the rows; afterwards prick over the ground, and sow Spinach between the rows

ASPARAGUS PLANTING.

If new beds are to be formed this spring the ground should soon be prepared. Land insufficiently drained has probably much to do with sickly produce; as, during winter, many of the roots decay. Asparagus succeeds well on light, well-drained land, planted in single rows, and the soil not raised above its natural level, but only on land of this description should the above system be entertained. I may remark that I have some growing as just mentioned, in rows 4 feet apart, and when the grass is allowed to grow to its natural size the soil between the rows is quite hidden. Heavy wet land is the worst on which to grow Asparagus successfully, and on such it should always be treated on the bed system, 3 feet beds with three rows of plants (two if very large produce is required) in each bed, and 2 feet alleys are the most convenient size, as they can be easily weeded and the produce gathered without any treading on the beds. On very heavy land two rows of drain pipes, I foot beneath the plants in the beds, may be introduced with great advantage, and the expense is not much in consideration.

LETTUCE.

Some plants of Brown Cos may now be set out (in a sunny position) from the autumn-sown seed bed. The plants in our bed, sown August 29 last, are nice sturdy stuff.

HERB BEDS.

These should now be thoroughly cleared of weeds, pricked over lightly with a fork and top-dressed with short well decayed manure. Tarragon, in many soils, is better transplanted into fresh beds every season. Old Mint-beds may be treated the same. Garlic and Shallots should now be planted by simply pressing the bulbs into the soil with the hand. G. H. Richards, Somerley Gardens, Ringwood, Hants.

ANTHURIUM MARGARITE X.-Under this name a cross out of Anthurium Scherzerianum by A. Andreanum is mentioned in the last number of the Illustration Horticole. The habit and foliage are those of A. Scherzerianum; the spathe is of the same shape as Andreanum, but of a delicate rose colour,

SEASONABLE REMARKS ON ORCHID CULTURE.

(Concluded from p. 146.)

CATTLEYA HOUSE.-There is now a good display of bloom in the Cattleya or intermediatehouse, and I find the flowers develope themselves much better if the temperature be not allowed to fall below 50° to 55° as a minimum. The beautiful blooms of C. Trianæ, for instance, are of small size, and do not open well in a temperature allowed to fall to 50° or under it, while they open well if it is between 55° and 60°. They may be removed into the warmest house, but this is not always convenient. I need not say that the flowers open much more freely if the plants are placed near the glass, and where at this season they may have the full benefit of the sun. The plants of Cattleya gigas and C. Dowiana have up to this time been kept comparatively dry and at the warmest end of the Cattleyahouse. Some growers keep them comparatively cool and very dry during the resting period. I tried this plan once, and that was once too often: they will not be forced into bloom by any such treatment as that. It is not during the resting period that such shy blooming Orchids as these can be made to bloom, but during the season of growth, and the treatment must be begun at once. Let the plants be placed in a position with the leaves almost touching the glass, the temperature of the house to be about 60° as a minimum. The young growths are now starting with great vigour, as C. gigas seems to make the strongest growths of any of them. In July, as the bulbs are finishing up their growths, the flowerspikes will appear, and after this it requires some judgment to prevent a second growth; both C. gigas and C. Dowiana have an inveterate habit of making a second start. The recent large importations of Cattleya have done much to place the very finest species and varieties within the reach of everybody who appreciates fine flowers. The season of flowering has also been greatly prolonged. It was a very pleasant surprise to see such richly coloured Cattleya flowers of the species C. Percivaliana as were exhi bited on January 13 last at the meeting of the Floral Committee at South Kensington. The beautiful forms of C. Triana will continue in flower until C. Mendelii and C. Mossiæ come in. Some of the Coelogynes just starting to grow may also be potted. Indeed this is a sure guide to the Orchid cultivator, if he can find time, to repot his plants as they are starting into growth, or rather just before they form a fresh lot of roots. The good old C. cristata and its varieties, C. Lemoniana and C. alba, are well adapted for culturc in any warm house where they can be well exposed to the light and air. The handsome Odontoglossum citrosmum is still at rest, the roots are kept so dry that the pseudobulbs begin to shrink up; this thorough resting period seems to be quite necessary to the healthy growth and free-blooming character of this species. The Cattleya-house still contains a number of plants removed for the winter season from the cool-house. The elegant Odontoglossum citrosmum succeeds best in the Cattleya-house during the winter months, and a number of species of Masdevallias prefer it.

THE COOL ORCHID-HOUSE.

In the cool-house itself there is a continual growth taking place, especially in the large section of Odontoglossum crispum, but the growth is not rapid, indeed it is better to keep the house cool and moderately dry for some time longer. The temperature may be about 45° or 50°, and if it is seen that the delicate white Odontoglossum blooms do not become spotted nor the foliage injured, the course of treatment pursued hitherto may be continued. About the end of February or early in March, any plants requiring repotting may be seen to.

DENDROBIUMS.

Plants of the type of D. Wardianum and D. crassinode are now coming into bloom; D. nobile is also in flower, a succession of these can be maintained up to June with but little trouble. The plants of the deciduous species grow best, and the flowers open better, if they are suspended in baskets from the roof.

MASDEVALLIAS.

Some growers recommend the repotting of Masdevallias at this time. They may be repotted now if they really require it, but this is not a good time to

divide them. The flowers are either pushing up from the base of the leaf-stalks or they have made consi. derable growth. In dividing Masdevallias it is better to pull the large plants carefully to pieces with the fingers. If a knife is used some of the roots may be severed, which is very injurious to the plants; it will probably kill some of them. This may easily be avoided, as such plants are easily divided by a very gentle pressure with the fingers.

HARDY CYPRIPEDIUMS.

It is now a good time to repot the hardy Cypripediums and other Orchids of this type; some of them, such as C. spectabile, require peat; others, as C. pubescens, a little loam with the peat. 7. D.

THE CESTRUMS (HABRO

THAMNUS).

THE genus Cestrum embraces some of the most beautiful of our cultivated plants, so handsome indeed

continuing throughout the whole summer, we have frequent accounts of their marvellous beauty as outdoor wall plants in many of the more genial parts of the British Isles, and by these accounts we learn that in few cases where the plants have been given a favourable situation under a south wall have they failed; it may, therefore, be concluded that the Cestrums are by no means excluded from our openair garden, and that experiment will prove them to be even hardier than we now believe them to be. W. E. Gumbleton, Esq., of Belgrove, Queenstown, Co. Cork, who is so well known as an acclimatiser of tropical plants, had in flower last May and onward throughout the season in great beauty in the open garden, C. Newellii, C. fasciculatum, and C. corymbosum; at Truro, in Cornwall, C. fasciculatum both flowered and fruited outdoors; Mr. Ewbank, at the Isle of Wight, also flowered C. fasciculatum as a hardy plant; last summer C. Newellii was in wonderful beauty, with its dense sprays of bright crimson flowers, in Lord Annesley's garden at Castlewilliam, Co. Down, where it had been outdoors for six years;

are they that ever since their introduction a continued current of praise has been kept up about them as one after another they have appeared in great beauty in the different gardens where they have been grown. It is a pity, however, that such worthy plants should or the greater part be confined to botanic gardens and to large private establishments, and that, too, while thousands of enquiries have been made by those who want just such rambling and trailing plants for their conservatories. It may be that in many cases the Cestrums are often excluded on account of their free growth seeming to require more space than can be afforded them, but this consideration should at once be cast aside, as they are the most tractable of plants, their keeping within certain limits or occupying a high roof being quite a matter under the control of their cultivator; it is to be feared, therefore, that they are not so much grown as they would be on account of their being not sufficiently known. As climbers or as pillar plants for cool conservatory or cold greenhouse the number of plants with showy flowers available are not large enough to allow of the Cestrums being disregarded, but even here their usefulness does not stop, for every year, commencing about the first week in May, and

and these and others of the genus have proved themselves hardy in many parts, not only living but coming to perfection, in spite of their being often cut down in winter, flowering and fruiting well every season. The cool conservatory, however, seems the best home for the Cestrums, and in it they seem to be in flower or fruit all the year round, their most showy time being in the winter, when the large Grape-like clusters of rose to crimson berries lend their cheering influence to the cool houses at Glasnevin, Chiswick, Kew, Regent's Park Botanic Garden, &c. With respect to the name Cestrum it is now generally admitted to be the proper one for that section denominated Habrothamnus, as there is no botanical difference to warrant the adoption of the latter as a generic name, indeed, if we regard the much wider differences which exist in the different species of other genera it would be something like splitting hairs to allow the name to hold good, although that section has most of the showier kinds in it, and the nameHabros, gay, and thamnos, shrub-would need but little excuse were it not that the scientific side of the question rendered it desirable that the name Cestrum, by right of priority, should be retained and applied to those introductions of 1842-3-4, to which the

name Habrothamnus was given. Further strength. ening this view of the case, and connecting the rosecoloured with the old Cestrums that beautiful shrub, Cestrum roseum (H. B. K., Nov. Gen., iii., 197), the subject of our illustration (fig. 36) may be cited, as it was named and described long before the name Habrothamnus was given, indeed, it seems to be the same plant as that grown in some gardens as H. corymbosus. It is a Mexican species, and with its

cases where better forms are obtained by unhybridised seeds the name of the parent will precede the distinctive title of the seminal variety.

The following selection is ranged in the order of merit as showy garden plants, commencing with the best :

Cestrum (Habrothamnus) Newellii.-A garden variety, which received a First-class Certificate at the Royal Botanic Society, May 24, 1876, and a First-class Certifi

C. (H.) purpureum of Van Houtte seems only to be a darker form of C. fasciculatum.

C. (H.) elegans is perhaps the most generally known, as it is one of the best of the dark rose-coloured kinds and also a good fruiter. The Glasnevin plant is marvellously beautiful with its berries hanging like bunches of small Grapes every winter.

C. (H.) elegans variegata.-A variety of the preceding, with prettily variegated leaves. If any have a love for variegating plants they have only to get this and graft

profusion of rosy flowers and bright coloured fruits it is one of the best of the family either for indoor or out. No one who has studied the different species of Cestrum can fail to come to the conclusion that many of them are seedling forms of the leading kinds only, many of the greenish flowered varieties having a strong affinity to C. foetidissimum, and at least three of the red ones being suspiciously near to C. fasciculatum. That they are liable to vary from seed is proved by that beautiful form C. Newellii (Habrothamnus), raised by Mr. Newell of Royston Hall, Downham Market, which should induce further efforts in that direction, but it is to be hoped that in all

cate at the Royal Horticultural Society, June 7, 1876. Flowers in dense sprays, bright reddish crimson, fruits crimson. Hardy in many places.

C. (H.) roseum (see fig. 36).-Flowers bright rose, fruits dark crimson. Hardy in mild districts.

C. (H.) corymbosum.-Introduced by Low of Clapton, 1843. Flowers in dense thyrses, rose coloured, very like C. roseum. Hardy in Ireland, Isle of Wight, &c.

C. (H.) fasciculatum.-This may be regarded as the type of the inflated tubed, small petalled varieties (fig. 37). It first flowered with Messrs. Lucombe, Pince & Co., of Exeter, in 1843, and proves to be one of the best and hardiest of the carmine flowered showy fruited species.

other species on it, and all the kinds may easily be variegated by the communication from the stock to the scion or vice versa it more convenient.

C. (H.) Hartwegii.-A bright rosy-crimson variety; also of the C. fasciculatum section.

C. (H.) Hartwegii pubescens differs mainly from the preceding in having the calyx softly pubescent. Flowers bright crimson. Both are lovely varieties.

C. aurantiacum is deservedly at the head of the true Cestrums, its bright orange flowers in winter and spring are lovely, and borne in the greatest profusion. Whoever has room for a pillar or wall plant in a cold greenhouse and has not got it should get it at once. It